Anyone know how to get cheap flights on short notice

skimread

skimread

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I often want to go on holiday but timing is an issue and I can't book two or more months ahead of time when flights are cheaper as I don't know how busy I will be.
If you make a flight for in the coming weeks it is always the most expensive. Often double of what you pay if you booked 3 months prior.

Is there not a way to get a cheap flight like the day before when people cancel? I never understood why you can't get bargains a a day or two before a flight.
 
Jinne I miss this about the UK. Used to get dirt cheap (like less than a meal) flights like this.
 
The issue is that the demand is currently so high that the available flights are getting filled quite easily without the airlines needing to sell unfilled seats at a discount.

Cheap flights don't seem to be something that are going to be coming back any time soon.
 
skimread said:
I often want to go on holiday but timing is an issue and I can't book two or more months ahead of time when flights are cheaper as I don't know how busy I will be.
If you make a flight for in the coming weeks it is always the most expensive. Often double of what you pay if you booked 3 months prior.

Is there not a way to get a cheap flight like the day before when people cancel? I never understood why you can't get bargains a a day or two before a flight.
Click to expand...
People do cancel at times. I know I did twice but airlines don't ever bring the price down. I only speculate that it is due to algorithm (which generally increases the fare the closer travel date is) unless there is some manual override (to be done by respective IT) available in any airline API/website.
 
skimread said:
I never understood why you can't get bargains a a day or two before a flight.
Click to expand...

You can. Last year I got an international booking the day before, cheaper than it had been a couple months earlier (when I'd booked weeks before). And the flight was full.

It makes sense that demand isn't great for tourist seats with only a day's notice.

skimread said:
If you make a flight for in the coming weeks it is always the most expensive. Often double of what you pay if you booked 3 months prior.
Click to expand...

The problem is "coming weeks" is exactly when most tourists would love to book for. There's probably an inverted U shape here.

But air ticket pricing is complex I don't think there's any rules of thumb that always apply.
 
I think a big problem it's because so many flights are connecting flights to other countries as well
 
skimread said:
I think a big problem it's because so many flights are connecting flights to other countries as well
Click to expand...
I'm eyeing flights to Portugal at the moment for end Aug and the flights have a already gone from 2 return at 28 to 36k this is with months of "warning"
 
skimread said:
If you make a flight for in the coming weeks it is always the most expensive. Often double of what you pay if you booked 3 months prior.
Click to expand...

www.skyscanner.net

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Find cheap last-minute flights to anywhere in the world from hundreds of airlines – then book with no fees. Act fast – these fares may rise at any time.
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Ready to get back out there? Here are the last-minute flight deals with the lowest prices. Act fast - they all depart within the next three months, and prices can change.

How did we find these deals? We looked at every economy class flight from Johannesburg leaving in the next three months. These fares have the biggest savings when compared to the average price. They were found in the last four days and prices are subject to change.
 
D said:
www.skyscanner.net

Last-minute Flights 2026 | Skyscanner

Find cheap last-minute flights to anywhere in the world from hundreds of airlines – then book with no fees. Act fast – these fares may rise at any time.
www.skyscanner.net

Ready to get back out there? Here are the last-minute flight deals with the lowest prices. Act fast - they all depart within the next three months, and prices can change.

How did we find these deals? We looked at every economy class flight from Johannesburg leaving in the next three months. These fares have the biggest savings when compared to the average price. They were found in the last four days and prices are subject to change.
Click to expand...
Thanks that is a useful link if they update it. There is one Dubai flight but the rest are all to Maputo.
 
skimread said:
Thanks that is a useful link if they update it. There is one Dubai flight but the rest are all to Maputo.
Click to expand...
Oh, you're looking for flight specials to ANY destination? In that case, you may as well check the Travelstart website, the FlightCentre website, etc.

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www.flightcentre.co.za

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